MILWAUKEE — If you've been paying your federal student loans for more than 20 years, you could see them wiped out this summer as thousands of borrowers in Wisconsin have been approved for loan forgiveness, according to the US Department of Education.
This follows the Biden administration's announcement Friday that student debt for more than 800,000 borrowers, totaling $39 billion worth of debt, will be wiped out.
The forgiveness takes place after a borrower makes 20 to 25 years of payments - which are based on their income and family size.
Of the more than 800,000 eligible borrowers, 12,220 of them are here in Wisconsin. That comes out to more than $500 million in federal student loans being forgiven in the badger state.
According to a statement from the Biden administration:
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today released state-by-state data on the number of borrowers who are eligible for automatic loan relief under fixes to Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans implemented by the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure all borrowers have an accurate count of the number of monthly payments that qualify toward forgiveness. On Friday, the Department started notifying 804,000 borrowers who have a total of $39 billion in Federal student loans that will be automatically discharged in the coming weeks. Today’s data show how many borrowers and the total amount that is eligible for relief in each state and territory as a result of this action. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department has approved more than $116 billion in student loan forgiveness for more than 3.4 million borrowers.
The discharges announced on Friday are part of the Department’s commitment to address historical failures in the administration of the Federal student loan program in which qualifying payments made under IDR plans that should have moved borrowers closer to forgiveness were not accurately accounted for. Borrowers are eligible for forgiveness if they have accumulated the equivalent of either 20 or 25 years of qualifying months depending on their loan type and IDR plan. Friday’s action is a result of the Biden-Harris Administration’s implementation of the payment count adjustment announced in April 2022.
View the debt plan by state below:
| Borrowers Approved for IDR Discharge under the Account Adjustment by Location | ||
| State | Borrower Count | Debt Eligible for Discharge (in millions) |
| Alabama | 12,720 | $553.90 |
| Alaska | 970 | $51.40 |
| Arizona | 20,530 | $1,030.40 |
| Arkansas | 6,940 | $342.60 |
| California | 61,890 | $2,958.80 |
| Colorado | 15,010 | $805.40 |
| Connecticut | 7,230 | $309.90 |
| Delaware | 2,430 | $113.10 |
| District of Columbia | 2,230 | $130.20 |
| Florida | 56,930 | $3,036.80 |
| Georgia | 38,590 | $2,130.40 |
| Hawaii | 1,690 | $90.20 |
| Idaho | 5,720 | $252.90 |
| Illinois | 28,450 | $1,316.00 |
| Indiana | 19,470 | $932.80 |
| Iowa | 10,730 | $465.10 |
| Kansas | 8,410 | $424.50 |
| Kentucky | 11,180 | $447.70 |
| Louisiana | 15,190 | $824.70 |
| Maine | 4,790 | $212.50 |
| Maryland | 16,750 | $918.30 |
| Massachusetts | 12,530 | $592.00 |
| Michigan | 26,980 | $1,267.30 |
| Minnesota | 13,610 | $645.20 |
| Mississippi | 9,480 | $450.90 |
| Missouri | 18,800 | $956.80 |
| Montana | 3,700 | $185.20 |
| Nebraska | 5,700 | $268.90 |
| Nevada | 6,820 | $330.00 |
| New Hampshire | 3,090 | $143.80 |
| New Jersey | 17,290 | $788.00 |
| New Mexico | 5,410 | $260.30 |
| New York | 42,070 | $1,924.10 |
| North Carolina | 24,870 | $1,135.10 |
| North Dakota | 2,110 | $100.60 |
| Ohio | 37,070 | $1,736.90 |
| Oklahoma | 11,530 | $548.40 |
| Oregon | 11,780 | $572.80 |
| Pennsylvania | 29,840 | $1,343.50 |
| Rhode Island | 2,580 | $109.70 |
| South Carolina | 16,330 | $855.20 |
| South Dakota | 3,030 | $147.40 |
| Tennessee | 16,970 | $867.90 |
| Texas | 63,730 | $3,091.80 |
| Utah | 3,940 | $212.00 |
| Vermont | 1,930 | $95.80 |
| Virginia | 21,560 | $1,042.50 |
| Washington | 16,310 | $777.10 |
| West Virginia | 4,950 | $196.20 |
| Wisconsin | 12,220 | $576.10 |
| Wyoming | 1,230 | $61.50 |
| All Other Locations | 8,710 | $350.30 |
| TOTAL | 803,990 | $38,980.90 |
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